Edited by S.T. Joshi

Back Cover Text

It is well known that H. P. Lovecraft was virtually ignored by the mainstream literary community
in his time, being known only in the tiny worlds of amateur journalism and fantasy fandom. And
yet, it is surprising how much comment on Lovecraft appeared in various venues, both obscure and
prominent, in his own time and just shortly after his early death in 1937. This volume gathers,
for the first time, a wide array of early criticism of Lovecraft, including poignant obituaries
by such friends as Walter J. Coates and Hyman Bradofsky; early attempts to analyze
Lovecraft’s work by such writers as Rheinhart Kleiner and Frank Belknap Long; voluminous
discussions of Lovecraft’s tales in the letter columns of Weird Tales and
Astounding Stories; an abundant selection of criticism from the fan world of the 1930s
and 1940s, including articles by August Derleth, P. Schuyler Miller, and Francis T. Laney; and
reviews of the first Arkham House books of Lovecraft’s work by Will Cuppy, T. O. Mabbott,
Vincent Starrett, William Rose Benét, and many others. Compiled by S.T. Joshi, a leading
authority on Lovecraft’s life and work, this volume sheds unique light on the faint wisps
of recognition that Lovecraft received during and just after his lifetime—recognition that
would become universal and worldwide with the passing of decades.

Contents

Introduction by S.T. JoshiI. Recollections of Lovecraft

Howard P. Lovecraft [1890–1937] by Walter J. Coates

Amateur Affairs by Hyman Bradofsky

[Letter to the Editor] by Robert Bloch

Interlude with Lovecraft by Stuart M. Boland

Howard Phillips Lovecraft by Muriel E. Eddy

I Met Lovecraft by Paul Livingston Keil

The Man Who Came at Midnight by Ruth M. Eddy

II. Criticism in Lovecraft’s Lifetime

A Note on Howard P. Lovecraft’s Verse by Rheinhart Kleiner

Howard P. Lovecraft’s Fiction by W. Paul Cook

The Vivisector by Zoilus [Alfred Galpin]

Preface to The Shunned House by Frank Belknap Long, Jr.

A Weird Writer Is in Our Midst by Vrest Orton

The Sideshow by B. K. Hart

What Makes a Story Click? by J. Randle Luten

III. Comments from Readers

Weird Tales

Astounding Stories

IV. Criticism from the Fan World

H. P. Lovecraft, Outsider by August Derleth

A Master of the Macabre by August Derleth

Disbelievers Ever by R. W. Sherman

The Last of H. P. Lovecraft by J. B. Michel

What of H. P. Lovecraft? or, A Commentary upon J. B. Michel by Autolycus

H. P. Lovecraft: Strange Weaver by J. Chapman Miske

Lovecraft and Benefit Street by Dorothy Walter

[Letters to the Editor] by Thomas Ollive Mabbott

A Plea for Lovecraft by W. Paul Cook

Let’s All Jump on H.P.L. by P. Schuyler Miller

Howard Phillips Lovecraft by Michael Harrison

The Lovecraft Cult by Arthur F. Hillman

Lovecraft Is 86 by Francis T. Laney

Rusty Chains by John Brunner

Some Notes on HPL by Sam Moskowitz, Fritz Leiber, Edward Wood, and John Brunner